Borderlands 2 writer might change Tiny Tina due to racism

Borderlands 2 is known for its wacky characters; from the greedy Marcus, to the gentleman like Sir Hammerlock. But one character some are now upset over is the "racist" Tiny Tina.

For those who have not played Borderlands 2 and do not know who she is, all you need to know is that she is a insane little girl who likes making bombs. She also talks crazy, but some are claiming that the way she speaks is in fact why she is due since she is using "black lingo".

Now for the sake of the accusers (and because I don't know how to embed tweets on blogs), I will not post who they are but I will take some of their quote instead.

@reverendanthony Hey. I really like BL2's writing, but Tiny Tina's trope of "white girl talkin' like them urban folk!!" has got to go

Anthony, the writer of Borderlands 2, was at first unwilling to change with the accusations but because of it, more have come and have also claimed Tina to be racist.

Anthony being respectful has listen to what they had to say about Tina and has also said

"The last thing I want to be is exclusionary or prejudiced, so if Tina truly is problematic I'll change her."

Now since this has happened, many are stepping up to defend both Tiny Tina and Anthony including President of Gearbox, Randy Pitchford.

@reverendanthony tina is not racist because you are not racist. You're a pillar of tolerance and inclusion.

Personally, since I know Tiny Tina was based on his sister, I think these claims are downright stupid. Using a races lingo for racism can only work if said character is a stereotype of that race. Think Mudflap and Skids from Transformers 2. Tina is not a stereotype and if using lingo is racist then, all blacks would have to only speak in "lingo" or they too would be racist. What are your thoughts on this?

Now I will post the source of this and they will have the accusers there. Please be respectful and do not harass them. They already have been harassed enough.

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Apart from the Quartet from the first game, Tina is by FAR my favorite BL2 Character. My girlfriends as well. If someone is offended by Tina, they should be offended by the entire game, and therefore not fit to pass judgment upon it.

As a black man, I do not find Tiny Tina offensive. Her use of urban slang is not being used in a negative way. Burche was not trying to making any statements about black people with the character. Anyone, who is offended, what message are you getting from her? What do you think Burche was trying to say about black people through Tiny Tina? If you can't think of one, you are offended for no reason. Just the fact she uses urban slang alone is not enough reason to call the character a racist stereotype, because it is not coupled with any negative traits that are usually associated with people who speak that way, like being lazy or uneducated. Tiny Tina is quite the opposite.

I think this stemmed from Mike Sacco, the white guy behind the accusations, feeling uncomfortable about laughing at a character who displayed a negative black stereotype, and blamed the writing for his own insecurities. The comedy is in the juxtaposition of a small white girl living and surviving in a tough environment around a lot of tough men (shown in her speech, probably comparing Pandora to the tough life in the inner city). He's using the "tough guy" part and not the "uneducated" part. There's really nothing racist about it.

This...makes...my brain...hurt by how much stupidity this is. Suddenly the way people talk is now racist. What happened to the freedom of speech? Is that only applicable as long as it doesn't make someone uncomfortable? History is full of uncomfortable moments! Will they stop teaching history because it had events that are tragic which makes people uncomfortable, Should the news be taken off the air because the violence in our country or violence in other nations make people uncomfortable, should all white people that talk "like them urban folk be labeled as a racist" Hell no, it is a way of expression people need to accept it and stop hating because it is "different" People with this mindset is holding mankind back because they don't want change. Yet change is the reason why we evolve and advance as individuals and as race. If you that afraid of change or how people "talk" don't every leave your house because the world will only drive you mad.

P.S. Tiny Tina is my favorite character as well. I'm black and I don't think she isn't racist in the least bit. Even if she was it still wouldn't bother me because things like that are petty. People who lived in that time didn't complain about it as much as people do now. Some people nowadays has gotten too soft.

You either loved Tiny Tina or hated her (I loved her) but this is just a game of ''who can annoy themselves the most about things that shouldn't be annoying.'' It's like saying the color blue is racist for not being red. I enjoy all the crazy characters, even Face McShooty, and that should not be changed because some people start throwing weird things and using that one overly used keyword, racist.

I was kinda stumped when I saw the headline since I didn't play BL2 and saw a white girl (how could this be racist). Now after reading set article, I have to say people are taking Tina out of proportion. A character's lingo shouldn't make the character an offensive stereotype. What a character says should be taken as offensive. Abel( from Street Fighter) isn't a stereotype of french man because he has a french accent. He isn't at all like the stereotypical Frenchman. Also, if Tiny Tina's lingo is black, then she would be a non-stereotype because she is white. I guess it wouldn't be a total loss if they changed her lingo, though. How does a girl on an alien planet develop an African-American dialect?

Little Tina is not racist. There's tons of white people who like to speak in "black lingo" cause they think its cool. So what? Everytime I hear someone talk about Borderlands 2, the character they always bring up as the most memorable is Tiny Tina. Now if she was turned into a Demi Devato or Mylie Cyrus, then watch how those very same people will now complain that she's the most boring character around. I agree with Quark. It would be more racist & stereotypical if it was a black character speaking jive.

Color has absolutely nothing to do with the words someone uses, or even their accents, or really anything about a person's personality at all. To even suggest such an idea is racist. It all has to do with their upbringing and what kind of influences they have in their lives.

That's not racist. That would be like calling Handsome Jack racist because he's white and speaks english properly. These people are just being pretentious whiners. If Tiny Tina makes you uncomfortable, it's because PC society has made you afraid of anything that might offend or upset minorities, like calling them out on their lazy misuse of the english language.

Also, proofread? "She also talks crazy, but some are claiming that the way she speaks is in fact why she is due since she is using "black lingo"."

I think people who say Tina is racist just took a few too many stupid pills that morning.

Wouldn't it be more racist and stereotypical if it were a "cliche black character" using this "black lingo?" Just because it's a white girl using words typically seen as something a black person would say doesn't make it racist, it actually makes the very same people who label said lingo as "black lingo" racist.. Heck, I've known some white girls who talk just like Tina and they're not racist, it's just the way they talk. She never uses any racist terms, or even says anything about color that I can remember.